JPS62287161A - Container loading rack - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smooth the insertion of a container and to prevent the container from breaking by detecting the deviation position of the container from the insertion hole at the time of container loading and whether or not the container is loaded in the insertion hole by sensors respectively. CONSTITUTION:Deviation detection sensors 4a-4d, etc., are arranged at plural positions on the peripheral surfaces of insertion holes 3 of a container support plate 2 and if a container 15 gripped by a robot hand 14 shifts from the center position of an insertion hole 3 at the time of the container loading, a contact signal from, for example, the sensor 4a is sent to a controller 12. The controller 12 receives this signal and drives and controls the robot hand 14 so that the container 15 moves away from the sensor 4a. Further, when a container 15 is already inserted into the insertion hole 3, on the other hand, a sensor 9 for loading detection contacts the bottom surface of the container 15 and sends a detection signal to the controller, thereby driving and controlling the robot hand 14 so that the container is not put repeatedly in the insertion hole 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a container mounting frame, and more specifically to a container mounting frame in which containers are automatically mounted. Type of container magazine
(Prior art) In an automatic analyzer that analyzes sample components by sequentially injecting sample liquids from a large number of sample containers into an analyzer, an insert having a diameter somewhat larger than the diameter of the sample container is used. The sample containers are loaded onto the container mounting stand equipped with holes, and the operator or the robot hunt is driven toward each insertion hole, and a teaching operation is performed to store the amount of movement, etc. at this time in the memory. Before starting the analysis work, a sample container into which a sample liquid has been dispensed is mounted on a container mounting stand by a robot hunt whose drive is controlled based on the contents stored in the memory.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, since the robot hand tends to accumulate errors due to control errors of moving servo devices and control errors of mechanical systems such as arms, it is difficult to ensure accurate drive control. If this is difficult to do, and if the container is installed slightly offset from the container mounting stand or robot, the insertion hole should be drilled with a sufficient clearance of 1E1 for the diameter of the sample container. Coupled with this, the center position of the sample container gripped by the mouth pot hunt and the insertion hole of the container mounting frame may become misaligned, and as a result, a part of the outer circumferential surface of the sample container and the insertion hole may overlap when inserting the container. The main problem is that the container comes in contact with a part of the surrounding wall surface and cannot be inserted smoothly, so in order to reduce this problem as much as possible, it is necessary to accurately align the container mounting frame with respect to the robot. In addition to tedious work, robot teaching is performed without a sample container mounted on the container mount, so if a sample container is already inserted into the insertion hole of the container mount, it may be difficult to teach the robot. However, because the robot loads the sample containers as instructed without the containers being mounted, there is a problem in that the containers may be damaged if the containers are stacked one on top of the other.

(Purpose) The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to determine the deviation position of the container with respect to the insertion hole when the container is mounted, and whether or not the container is mounted with respect to the insertion hole. An object of the present invention is to provide a new container mounting frame capable of detecting the detection signal and sending this detection signal as a control signal to a container mounting device.

(Summary of the Invention) The present invention detects the deviation position of the container with respect to the insertion hole based on detection signals from container deviation detection sensors arranged at a plurality of locations on the peripheral wall surface of the insertion hole of the container support member, and detects the deviation position of the container with respect to the insertion hole. The receiver detects the presence or absence of container mounting based on a detection signal from a sensor for detecting container mounting provided on the member, and sends this detection signal as a control signal to the container mounting device.

(Example) The details of the present invention will be explained below based on the illustrated example.

Figure 1 shows an example in which the pedestal of the present invention is installed in parallel with a robot.
The figure shows a partial top view of the pedestal of the present invention, and the reference numeral 1 in the figure is a container mount frame that supports a container support plate 2, an intermediate support plate 6, and a container receiving plate 8 in order from above. X on board 2
, an insertion hole 3... having a diameter somewhat larger than the diameter of the sample container 15 is bored in the Y-axis direction, and a sample container in this axial direction is formed in the X-axis direction of the peripheral wall surface of the insertion hole 3... ] 5, displacement detection sensors 4a, 4b, etc., such as seal-type touch sensors that generate an output due to pressure upon contact, are provided. Similarly, displacement detection sensors 4c, 4d, and so on are provided to detect the displacement of the sample container 15 in the axial direction, and the detection signals of these sensors are separately transmitted to the robot.
A female connector 5 is provided for sending data to the contact system@device]2. The intermediate support plate 6 is provided with insertion holes 7 at positions corresponding to the insertion holes 3, and the container receiving plate 8 is provided with insertion holes 3 and 7. Sensor 9 detects whether or not the container is mounted at a position corresponding to...
A female connector 1o is also provided to separately send the detection signals of the sensors to the robot control device 12.

In the figure, reference numerals 11a and 11b are male connectors connected to the connectors 4 and 10, and 4 is a male connector connected to the connector 4.10, and the control device 12 receives detection signals from the above-mentioned deviation detection sensor and mounting detection sensor. Robot mechanism 13 based on the detection signal
A robot hand is shown that corrects the position of the container with respect to the insertion hole and controls the prohibition of overlapping the containers through the robot hand.

In the apparatus configured as described above, when loading a sample container, the sample container 15 currently held by the robot hunt 14 is deflected to the right from the center position of the insertion hole 3 so that it comes into contact with the deflection detection sensor 4a. When the sample container 15 is in the position, the sample container 15 contacts the sensor 4a upon insertion, and a detection signal from the sensor 4a is sent to the control device 12 via the connector 15. Control device 1 to which a signal indicating this deviation position is input
2 drives and controls the robot hand 14 so that the sample container 15 is displaced a predetermined distance in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure away from the sensor 4a (FIG. 3(A)).

Similarly, when the sample container] 5 is deviated to the left from the center position of the insertion hole 3 so as to come into contact with the displacement detection sensor 4b, the signal indicating the deviated position is also controlled. ]
2, and the robot hand 14 is driven and controlled so that the sample container 15 is displaced a predetermined distance in the direction away from the sensor 4b. Roughly speaking, if the sample container 15 is deviated upward from the center position in the insertion hole 3 so as to come into contact with the deviation detection sensor 4c, the sample container 15 may come into contact with the sensor 4C during insertion. , a detection signal indicating the deflection position by the sensor 4C is sent to the control device] 2 via the connector 5, so that the sample container 15 is displaced a predetermined distance in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure away from the sensor 4C (see Fig. 3). c)) Drive and control the robot hand 14. Furthermore, when the sample container 15 is deviated downward from the center position in the insertion hole 3 so as to come into contact with the deviation detection sensor 4d, a detection signal indicating the deviation position is similarly sent to the control device 12. The robot hand 4 is driven and controlled so that the sample container 15 is displaced a predetermined distance in a direction away from the sensor 4d.

On the other hand, if the sample container 15 has already been inserted into the insertion hole, the bottom of the container 15 comes into contact with the mounting detection sensor 9 (Fig. 3(B)), and as a result, the detection signal that is detected first is transmitted to the connector]0. The robot hand 14
Drive control is performed to prohibit the insertion operation.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which sensors for detecting deviation are provided at three locations on the peripheral wall surface of the insertion hole.
Deflection detection sensors 41, 42, and 43 are arranged on the peripheral wall surface of the insertion hole 3, and in this example as well, the displacement of the sample container with respect to the insertion hole is detected by any one of the sensors 4] to 43, and this deviation is detected. A detection signal indicating the position is sent to the control device.

In addition, in the above embodiment, even if the sample container contacts a single sensor for detecting deviation, or if the sample container contacts adjacent sensors at the same time, the control device to which these detection signals are input will not be affected. Therefore, by controlling the robot hand to move in the direction of the sensor that is not in contact with it, it is possible to smoothly insert the sample container. In addition, the deviation detection sensors described in this example are not limited to three or four locations on the peripheral wall of the insertion hole, and even if they are installed in two or five or more locations, the deviation position of the sample container cannot be detected. Of course you can get it.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the container support member is provided with sensors for detecting container deviation at a plurality of locations on the peripheral wall surface of the insertion hole, and the container receiver is provided with sensors for detecting container mounting on the member. The sensor for detecting deviation detects the deviation position of the container with respect to the Q insertion hole, and the sensor for mounting detection detects whether or not a container is mounted in this insertion hole. At the same time, this detection signal can be sent to the container mounting device, thereby correcting the position of the container with respect to the insertion hole for smooth insertion into the container mounting device, and for preventing damage to the container. In addition to making it possible to input a control signal to prohibit stacking, it also simplifies the work of determining the position of the container mounting rack relative to the container mounting device. It becomes possible to use bodywork =.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 shows the container mounting frame of the present invention and this! FIG. 2 is a partial top view of the above-mentioned pedestal, FIG. FIG. 4 is a top view showing a part of another embodiment of the present invention in which three displacement detection sensors are disposed on the wall of the insertion hole KI of the mount. ]... Container mounting frame 2... Container support plate 3.
... Insertion holes 4a, 4b, 4C14d... Deflection detection sensor 8.
...Container receiving plate 9...Sensor for mounting detection

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A container support member in a container mounting frame of a type in which containers are automatically mounted by a container mounting device, comprising insertion holes in which sensors for detecting container deviation are disposed at a plurality of locations on a peripheral wall surface. and a container receiving member provided below the container support member and having a sensor for detecting container installation at a position corresponding to the insertion hole position of the container support member, and a container receiving member provided below the container support member and having a sensor for detecting container mounting at a position corresponding to the insertion hole position of the container support member. A container mounting frame characterized in that when touched, a respective detection signal is sent to the container mounting device. A container mounting frame characterized by comprising: